From the Heart of a Child
by eriksredrose
Summary: Christine first hears her angel of music sing to her as a child. As she grows older, their passion grows until the day she meets another man who tries to take her away from the dark life she has begun to live. Set in Modern times
1. Chapter 1

_**The first time I ever met Erik was when I was fourteen years old. Of course that seems young, but you must first understand that he didn't show his physical self until I turned sixteen. For two long years the passion built and our love grew in shadows until that fateful day he stepped out from the darkness to meet me in the sun. Our story begins though when I was a child and his music began to play for me….**_

_**I can still remember the first day of my eighth grade year. My uniform was pressed so tight you could make a penny jump to the ceiling off of it. My blue button up oxford with my tan skirt fit well for only being fourteen I thought as I looked in the mirror at myself. As I tied a red ribbon in my brown hair, I put a little mascara on and began to head out the door. **_

_**I headed outside for the school bus to pick me up and once I found my seat, I relaxed and pulled out a book to read, waiting to get to school. I was eager to see my friends again after such a long summer. **_

_**I was the first to be picked up every morning so my ride was the worst out of everyone's, but I didn't mind. My mind had thoughts of the school musical flooding through it. Last year I had been in the musical and that was when I had found my love of singing. I was only a chorus girl, but still, just to be on the stage with the stars was enough for me. It made me feel like I had found my place. **_

_**When the bus pulled up to the walkway between the buildings, I walked out to look at my school once again. It had been almost ninety days since I had been there but of course, it looked the same. I quickly pulled out my new schedule and made my way to my first class of the day which happened to be Computer.**_

_**When I opened the door, I found a patch of my friends gathered around the teacher's desk and I joined them to see what was going on. Once I found out it was nothing important, I took my seat next to my best friend, Megan. **_

"_**Christine, how was your summer?" she asked eagerly? **_

"_**Oh Meg, it was great! I read so many books and practiced my singing every single day!"**_

_**Megan giggled when I even tried to sing her the scales for proof. Just then, the bell rang and like clockwork, everyone found their seats. **_

_**Our Computer teacher, Mr. Campbell, stood up and introduced himself but I had known him since I was a child. Throughout his speech, Megan passed notes to me and I had to refrain from laughing at the remarks she would make about class. Finally, we were allowed to go to our computers and Megan and I took off for the first two next to each other. Our project of the day was the start building a website and we had been working on it for about twenty minutes when I suddenly heard the most beautiful sound I had ever heard. A man singing somewhere. Somewhere the most beautiful voice a man could ever posses was serenading my heart and I had no idea where it was coming from. I stood to my feet and began walking around the room, but no matter where I walked, I couldn't see where it was coming from, but I could still hear him. **_

"_**Christine, are you alright?" asked Mr. Campbell.**_

"_**I hear someone singing. Don't you?" I asked helplessly.**_

_**Mr. Campbell paused and listened but shook his head. **_

"_**I swear I can hear him, I hear him so loudly! I can hear a man singing!" I began to shout across the classroom.**_

"_**Christine, maybe you should go to the nurse." he said and wrote me out a pass. **_

_**Even Megan couldn't hear this mystery man so I grabbed the pass and ran out the door. Once the door shut though, I couldn't hear the singing anymore. Now my curiosity was peaked. I wanted to know what was going on. I walked around the corner to the other side of the classroom but there was nothing. As I turned around though, I heard a cape swirl behind me. I quickly turned back to see a cape darker than night swirl around a tall body and before I could blink, it was gone. **_

_**I lied down in the nurse's office and began to tell her my tale. At first she thought I was just trying to skip class but as I got my in depth, her eyes began to actually believe me. She looked at me with such pity and then stood up. **_

"_**Christine, I am going to call your father. I think you need to go home."**_

"_**Mrs. Gill, do you know what is going on?" I asked.**_

_**She looked at me for a moment, pondering whether to tell me or not, but then finally shook her head 'yes'.**_

"_**I have known for quite some time that this would happen, Christine. I have known ever since you where in the school musical last year."**_

"_**What about the musical? I was just a lowly chorus girl." I replied.**_

"_**Not to everyone, Christine. Someone sees much talent in you."**_

'_**Who?" I asked curiously.**_

"_**I cannot tell you his name, Christine. He will tell you when he is ready. All I can tell you is that someone has watched over you since the opening night of that musical." **_

"_**Watched over me? What do you mean? And how do you know so much?" I asked angrily. **_

_**She motioned towards her office and once we walked in and shut the door, she began her story. **_

"_**Christine, what I am about to tell you must never leave the sanctity of this office." **_

_**As I nodded my head in agreement, she began again.**_

"_**It was long ago that I met him; when the school first opened. He was one of the architects of the auditorium. He was such a brilliant man, Christine. He designed everything you see here today. But he is not just a designer, he is also a great teacher. His true passion is music. And when he heard you sing in the musical, he wanted to tutor you and make you a star. Ever since then, he was watched over you like a guardian angel so to say. He knows every move you make. He is a very clever man, Christine, but he is also very loving. "**_

"_**When can I meet him?" I asked eagerly.**_

"_**When he is ready, Christine." **_

"_**How does he know so much about me?" **_

"_**I have already said too much about him. When he is ready to tell you, he will. He will show himself to you someday soon I suppose. He has been with you all summer and you just now heard him sing so it is only a matter of time." **_

"_**How do you know so much about him?" I asked.**_

_**She paused for a moment, then got closer to my face to whisper, "I have already met him." **_

_**Before she could continue, my father walked in to take me home. **_

"_**My little Christine, are you alright?" he asked then felt my forehead. **_

"_**I'm alright daddy, I just want to lie down." **_

_**As my father drove me home, I was silent. My mind raced trying to comprehend the thought of a man interested so much in me that he followed me everywhere. Once we pulled up to our house, I walked inside quickly to lie down. As I pulled the covers of my shivering body, my thoughts were drowned out by the melodic sounds of someone whispering my name over and over again. I didn't even know this man and already I feared him. **_


	2. Chapter 2

Ever since the first moment I heard him sing, my entire life was a secret from my loved ones. I dared not tell them a mysterious man was serenading me during school and at home in fear my father would try to send me away. I tried to keep my mind off of it, but I couldn't. I kept wondering why this man wanted me and why he had to hide himself. It was finally two months later that I couldn't take it any longer. I had to get away from this man.

It was my Thanksgiving break from school and I had been in my house for days because of the tremendous snow banks outside. Usually it didn't snow like this in New York in November, but this year, it did. I had already tried to do everything I could to keep myself entertained, but nothing seemed to help. The same old things were on the television and I couldn't go see my friends. And to make matters worse, the songs and music kept singing through my head endlessly. I tried to tune him out, but no matter how much it bothered me, I couldn't ignore the fact that his voice was beautiful. That is, until I went to bed that night.

I crawled into bed at nine o'clock sharp trying to bring tomorrow faster, hoping there would be no snow. I turned out the lights and once my head hit the pillow, I closed my eyes and started to drift into the most blissful sleep I could have ever imagined until his voice began to sing to me once more. At once, my eyes shot open. No matter how beautiful the sound was, I couldn't stand this man anymore. I couldn't stand that I wasn't normal anymore, that I had to lie to my friends and family about him. In an instant, my heart began pounding in my chest, full with anger as I stood up on my bed and shouted, "Leave me alone!"

He kept singing louder, and even when I put my hands to my ears, I could still hear him.

"Go away! Don't you see I don't want to know you? Please just leave me alone." I yelled across my room.

This seemed to only make matters worse because his voice began pounding in my head. That was when I couldn't stand it anymore. I had to get out. No matter how cold it was, I just had to get away from my house and his voice.

I grabbed my coat and only wearing a pair of flannel pj's, I opened up my bedroom window and ran outside through the snow. I kept thinking if only I could get far enough away from him, maybe he would leave me be. But before I could even get three blocks away from my house, I suddenly began to feel so tired. My body started to go numb and I slowed down, finally realizing how cold it really was out here. All of a sudden my legs lost all feeling in them and I tumbled to the ground. As I lied in the snow, I began to think that I could no longer hear his voice, but I could no longer feel the lower half of my body. I started to shiver and without my knowing, my eyes slowly began to close. The last thing I remembered was my head hitting the snow bank and all the sounds of the world faded away.

Just as my life was close to its end, I suddenly felt a strong warmth flooding through my body. My eyes opened as I looked up to see him for the first time. He was in all black except for the white mask on the right side of his face and his arms were wrapped around me like a blanket, trying so desperately to keep the warmth near my heart. His cloak was around me as well when I noticed that I was in his arms. He was carrying me across the snow in his arms. Before I could open my mouth, my eyes closed once again but not before I saw his eyes look into mine for the first time.

When I finally came to, I thought everything had been a dream. I shot up in bed but my head was pounding in my ears which made me lie back down. My mind began to race. Was it a dream or did he really come? The man who has been singing to me for months?

Just before I pushed the thought from my mind, I glanced into my bathroom through the corner of my eye and saw wet clothes hanging from the curtain rod. My eyes widened once I realized they were my coat and flannel pj's that I had been wearing when I left to go outside. I immediately looked down at myself to see my clothes had been changed.

At first my face turned red with anger and embarrassment, but then before I could yell, I realized that it had to have been done or else I would have caught a cold. The only reassuring think was that I still had the same undergarments on.

I laid my head back down on the pillow and began to think of what to do. I knew he was there. I could sense him watching me, but unlike before, it didn't bother me this time. It in a way soothed me. He had saved my life.

"I don't know if you can hear me…" I began, "But thank you…for saving me."

I listened intently to the sound of my name echo throughout my mind. First in whispers, then in melody. I sat up and closed my eyes to the sound of his voice and as I did, I remembered his face. His face was in one word- remarkable. I expected this strange man to be so ugly, but he wasn't. As my eyes were closed, I pictured his voice and his face at the same time, trying to make out a picture of the man I had known for only two months now.

"Why have you come to me?" I asked suddenly, waiting for an answer.

There was a silence that could have been mistaken for forever and just as I thought he was gone, he replied with the first words I had ever heard him speak to me.

"I want to teach you to sing."

His voice. Even when he spoke it was so beautiful. I closed my eyes and felt myself shudder a bit under the covers.

"I _want you to teach me." I replied, "But first, I want to see you again."_

"_In time, Christine." he replied rather quickly._

"_But I already saw you. I…need to see you again."_

_His silence answered my question sharply, but he didn't understand. I didn't want to make fun of his mask. I wanted to make sure the beauty I had seen in him was real._

"_Please…" I asked gently._

"_In time, Christine." he replied sweetly and just as he did, he quickly replied, "We shall start your lessons tomorrow." _

_As I lied back and closed my eyes, for the first time in months, his voice became the most beautiful thing I had ever heard once again. But instead of his voice putting me to sleep, it was dreams of his beautiful face. _


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning I woke up with such a strange feeling in my stomach. I opened my eyes slowly and began to look around my room to see that the sun was shining in brightly. Squinting a bit, I slowly got up and began to undress to take a shower. Once I had the water the way I liked it, I got in and began to wash my hair when out of no where, a song began to sing from my own mouth.

"Who can say for certain, maybe you're still here. I feel you all around me, your memory so clear. Deep in the stillness, I can hear you speak. You're still an inspiration, can it be? That you are mine, forever love, and you are watching over me from up above…"

Suddenly I stopped and caught myself. I couldn't believe what I had just done. I had just sung to the same man who had been singing to me for months. And of all songs, a love song. What was happening to me? And had he heard? What was this strange hold this masked man had over me?

As I stepped from the shower, I tied my towel around myself and made my way to my room to get dressed for my first lesson. Once I was completely dry, I decided to put on my favorite dress for the occasion. It was black and ruby colored with Chinese flowers in patterns on it. Underneath, since it was still winter, I wore a ruby turtleneck. As I slipped my black pantyhose on, I stepped back to look at myself in the mirror, but not before adding the finishing touch, my black headband.

Once I had finished, I sat on the edge of my bed waiting for him to come. My heart was all in flutters and I couldn't explain why. I had never felt this way about anyone before and I didn't even know his name. But there was something about him that intrigued me. Something about this man touched the deepest part of my soul and it scared me very much.

While I was deep in thought, my name was suddenly whispered throughout the room. My heart jumped as I got to my feet and looked around for him.

"Are you ready, Christine?" he asked gently.

"Yes." I replied meekly, "But first I must you ask you something. What do you want me to call you?"

At first he was silent, but then, he replied, "Erik. Just Erik."

"Erik…" I whispered. His name was Erik.

______________________________________

Our lessons carried on through spring of the following year. Everyday, immediately after school, he sang to me and I him. Sometimes he was strict, but it was only in his best intensions. But it was worth it. When he finally let me sing a duet with him, something happened that night. My song and heart both rose and I knew there was something between us I couldn't fight any longer. I knew I was only fourteen, but that upcoming fall I would turn fifteen. I felt like it would take forever though; it was only February.

My school life changed dramatically as well. I still stayed in chorus, but I didn't try to talk to any of my friends anymore. I couldn't bring myself to open my heart to them just yet and because of that, I just stayed away. The only person it seemed I talked to anymore other than Erik was Mrs. Gill. I told her daily of everything that was happening between Erik and I. Her smile always showed brightly when I sang for her too.

"Oh, Christine. You sound so beautiful. And you sound happy too."

I blushed a bit hoping she couldn't see the feelings I was starting to have for him.

"I am happy." I replied. I paused for a moment, contemplating whether or not to continue my sentence. "I think I am falling in love with him, Mrs. Gill."

He eyes shone bright and her smile widened.

"Oh my sweet dear, he is falling in love with you too."

__________________________________________

Still days after my last talk with Mrs. Gill, my thoughts raced through my mind. I knew my feelings were real, but were his? I could feel something between us, that much was true, but as for loving me in return, he had never done anything to show his affections other than rescuing me. And even that he could have done out of pity for me. And to make matters worse, today was Valentine's Day. All day long I walked around my school watching all the other girls get flowers and wished that Erik could be here with me. For the first time since I had known him, he wasn't with me today. I hadn't even heard him sing.

During my bus ride home, I wondered where he was. If I had angered him somehow and that was why he hadn't been with me all day. Once the bus pulled up to my house, I noticed my dad wasn't home either, but he never was. He always worked late and it seemed like he was always away. If it wasn't for me being able to take care of myself, I don't know what he would do.

When I walked through the front door, that was when the smell of roses flooded my nose. I looked around and saw rose petals scattered in a line on the floor that seemed to be leading to my bedroom. I quickly put my book bag down and began to follow them. Once I reached the top of the stairs, the petals lead me to my closed bedroom door. I slowly opened it with curiosity and gasped at what I saw. Lit candles were burning brightly on everything in my room. The line of rose petals lead up to my bed on which one single rose with a black ribbon tied around it was lying across my pillow. It was then I noticed there was something tied to the ribbon. As I picked it up to examine it, I noticed it was a gold ring. Before I could speak, I sensed his presence and my heart melted because I knew he had done all of this for me.

'Christine…" he whispered.

Butterflies flew through my stomach as I turned around with the ring in my hand while still holding the rose.

'Oh Erik, this is all so beautiful. Thank you." I said hoping not to cry. It was then my heart longed to tell him of my love. The love I knew that I felt for him.

"Christine, do you know why I gave you this ring?" he asked suddenly.

I paused, not knowing what to say so I shook my head.

"Christine…" he said with a pause. "I want it to be a symbol for us."

Just then, he said what I had been dreaming of for so long.

"Christine, I am in love with you. I have been since I first heard you sing. But you are so young. It would be wrong of me to be with you now."

He then paused. He must have noticed the tears running down from my face.

"But I will wait for you, as long as it takes. I promise I can love no other. You are mine forever, Christine."

I couldn't hold back any longer. I slipped the ring onto my wedding finger and as the tears ran down my face, I confessed to him the deepest parts of my soul.

"I have loved you for so long, Erik. I have never felt this way before. I will always be only yours. You are my soul mate, Erik. My heart belongs to you."

"Christine…" he whispered.

"Please…" I whispered. "I need to see you, Erik."

He grew silent and when I thought he wouldn't speak anymore, I looked down at the floor so suddenly see a light shining underneath my large mirror.

As I looked up, my eyes grew wide with what I saw. He was there, standing before me for the first time, watching me move closer to him. His hypnotic green eyes blazed as I touched my cheek to the glass of the mirror, wishing I could touch him instead. The tears streamed down my face as I touched my hand to the glass and I watched him bring his hand up to follow. He laid his over mine, and the only thing that lied between us was the mirror.

"Christine." he moaned.

"I love you, Erik." I cried as I closed my eyes, desperately wishing I could feel his arms around me. "Please don't ever leave me."


End file.
